260 Kent Avenue

When YIMBY last checked in on 260 Kent Avenue, the building had only risen a few floors over Domino Park. Now, construction workers are bridging the gap between the two reinforced concrete structures that make up the bottom half of the structure. The 435-foot tall residential tower is being designed by COOKFOX, and will yield 462,000 square feet of space. There will be 330 rentals, 66 affordable units, and 150,000 square feet of office space spread among 22 floors, as well as 13,000 square feet of retail space at the base. Recent photos show the first level of the upper half being assembled.

Glass is starting to rise at 260 Kent Avenue, and there’s something strangely pleasing about the new façade. The clean pre-cast concrete panels are shockingly white, and have deeply set back windows. The molecular pattern and forms of sugar crystals inspired the unusual design, as an homage to the Domino Sugar Factory that used to dominate the Williamsburg waterfront.

In less than eight weeks, the Domino Sugar Factory’s redevelopment is expected to open up six acres of landscaped public space on 1,200 feet of the Williamsburg waterfront. Two Trees Management is developing the land, immediately north of the Williamsburg Bridge. The master plan includes square-arch motifs in three of the four new buildings, indicative of this project’s relationship with the bridge as the gateway to North Brooklyn. The public space has been designed by James Corner Field Operations, who also designed the new High Line Park.